Photo: Fancy-cats-are-happy-cats · Public domainShelburne’s library logs 15 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries its size
Pierson serves Shelburne’s 7,807 residents. Last year it lent 82K print books and media and logged 117K visits.
What Shelburne’s library is like
Shelburne ranks 2nd in Vermont for library use
Out of 43 Vermont towns with a library of their own, Shelburne comes 2nd for visits per resident. How it compares ↓
Shelburne uses its library more than almost any town its size
Pierson logs 15 visits per resident, against a typical 3 for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people, and lends 10 print items per resident against a typical 3.8. On both counts it beats 92% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 67% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 97% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 34 items per child in Shelburne last year. Kids & programs ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
What’s behind Shelburne’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Shelburne is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns, #15 of 71 in Vermont. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; library visits rank highest.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
58 community nonprofits are registered in Shelburne
7.3 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: human services.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 3 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
8.8%
8.8% of Shelburne’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.5% in the typical Vermont town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Shelburne’s residents live; 2022.
Every hour the doors are open, about 36 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 7 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people across the U.S.
Pierson serves 7,807 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
82K print loans last year. The library didn’t report its e-book and e-audiobook loans.
Each of the 42K books and other items on the shelves went out about 1.9 times last year, on average.
Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 4 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Shelburne last year.
Find it
Pierson, 5376 Shelburne Rd., Shelburne.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Shelburne? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.03 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Shelburne cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $597K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $1.2M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $597K budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
Retail prices are typical, rounded down: a new book $17, a kids’ book $12, an e-book or e-audiobook $15, a movie rental $4, a class or program $10, a computer or Wi-Fi session $3. The average cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 6,033 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Shelburne ranks 2nd of 4 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte | Charlotte fine-free | 11.8 | 43 | A |
| Shelburne | Pierson fine-free | 10.5 | 44 | A |
| South Burlington | South Burlington fine-free | 9.1 | 53 | A− |
| Willsboro | Paine Memorial Free Library fine-free | 3.4 | 39 | B− |
| Hinesburg | Carpenter-Carse fine-free | — | 46 | A− |
| St. George | None of its own | — | — | — under 1,000 residents |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- Digital loans not reported. Vermont libraries often don’t report e-book loans, so borrowing here is print only.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in Shelburne
Does Shelburne have a public library?
Yes. Pierson, 5376 Shelburne Rd., serves Shelburne’s 7,807 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 44 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Pierson fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Shelburne’s library?
It logged 15.0 visits and lent 10.5 print items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3 visits for libraries serving 2,500 to 10,000 people.
What is Shelburne’s civic life grade?
A Shelburne is ahead of 94% of U.S. towns on civic life, #15 of 71 in Vermont. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Shelburne.
Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.